USD Coin (USDC) is the second-largest stablecoin, issued by Circle in partnership with Coinbase under the Centre consortium, fully backed 1:1 by US dollar cash and short-term US Treasury Bills held in regulated US financial institutions. Unlike Tether, USDC has pursued regulatory compliance from the start — publishing monthly reserve attestations by major accounting firms and seeking banking licences in multiple jurisdictions. USDC exists on Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, and other chains. It is the preferred stablecoin for institutional DeFi and US-based regulatory contexts. Circle’s cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP) enables native USDC burning and minting across chains without bridging. USDC supply briefly fell from $44B to $25B after the Silicon Valley Bank crisis in March 2023 (Circle held $3.3B at SVB) but recovered as the US government guaranteed deposits. USDC is deeply integrated into Coinbase’s Base L2 ecosystem and is the primary stablecoin for compliant RWA tokenisation platforms like Ondo Finance and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.
Example: BlackRock’s BUIDL fund — a tokenised US Treasury fund — uses USDC for subscriptions and redemptions. Institutional investors wire USD, receive USDC, and use it to purchase BUIDL tokens that earn T-bill yield. USDC’s regulatory standing makes it the preferred instrument for institutional on-chain dollar exposure.
Learn more: Circle — USDC
